Paper Bag Albums

I just had to share pictures of the paper bag albums my daughter & I have been making. She & I worked on the design details together, then we created three more using the same paper pack (Persnickety by the Paper Studio - Hobby Lobby) along with some black, white & maroon solid cardstock from an unknown company - I buy things everywhere - if it doesn't have a name on it, I'm just out-of-luck

We used six white paper bags (lunch bag size) to create the base of each album, giving lots of space for pictures & journaling.

Each of the six big pockets hold a tag that measures 5 1/4" X 6". They are designed to be used as-is by folks that don't scrapbook (or want a hand crafted gift but don't have time to create) as well as leaving plenty of space for you scrapbookers to personalize the album with treasures from your stash!

Thirteen smaller tags are tucked invitingly under belly bands and in pockets. Two are even hiding inside a pocket on one of the large tags. Many edges are delightfully shaped along one side with the Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edge Punch. When we were designing this album the papers just screamed "Paris!" So we allowed the album to sweep us away as it grew a personality of its own. You'll find stamps of the Eifel Tower, reproduction prints (from public domain sources) including lovely ladies and old-fashioned postcards. Paper flowers adorn some of the pages. These were hand punched from coordinating paper, layered and distressed using Tim Holtz Destress Inks. Stickles, glimmer mist and vintage buttons add to the album's charm.
The cover was created using heavy mat board for a strong, lasting cover that will protect your precious memories for many years to come. Ribbon and silk flowers with a vintage button center form the closure.

One of these albums would be a perfect gift for someone special, yourself included! There are only four available. The outside covers are the only difference, the interiors are as identical as any hand created piece of paper art can be.

Persnickety #1 features a brown binding with intersecting lighter lines forming squares. The flower closure was created with a green base topped with a hot pink blossom sporting fun navy spots and a vintage pearl button.

Persnickety # 2 sports the same brown binding as #1. The flower that adorns this album has a green base topped with two layers of soft mauve petals and a vintage pearl button closure.

Persnickety # 3 has a lovely dark brown binding with tiny pink polka dots. A beautiful green base along with two layers of hot pink petals accented with the fun navy dots and yet another vintage pearl button create the lovely closure on this album.

Persnickety # 4 has the same lovely binding as featured on #3. The flower closure adorning this album has a green base topped with a single soft mauve blossom and vintage button. I'm having difficulty getting a picture of # 4 to download. With my luck I'll publish this post only to have a half-dozen copies that I'll have to try to edit out!

The buttons on these albums came from my grandmother's button box that I played with as a young girl many years ago. I've decided it's better to get them out and use them where their old fashioned charm can be shared than to leave them on the shelf in an old tea biscuit tin. I am saving some for my grand daughter who loves to play with grandma's buttons as much as I once did. I'm setting up an ETSY store to sell these albums. I'll post the url for it soon, so check back!

New Journal Pages

Wheeewwww! School is almost over - just 6 more days. I don't know who is more excited - the kids or me! We've been working on art journals in our class. Here's a picture of some of the kids. I'll post some of their pages soon. I have some very talented artists in my class!

I've been working on lots of chunky pages for swaps, but have managed to finish 2 journal pages. I'm really enjoying the Zetti style pages. I've just got to figure out a good way to organize all the magazine pieces I'm cutting out! When I figure it out, I'll be sure to post. I'm not the most organized person in the world (alright - I wasn't born with the organization gene at all), but I can't work in complete chaos. I hate spending time digging through the piles on the dining table to find that perfect piece that I just saw a minute ago. I have cleaned the dining table, it's Memorial Day and the kids & grand kids are coming over, so I figured unless I wanted toddler bbq finger prints all over my pages I'd better put things up. So things are a little organized, but I know I need to find a better way. Any one out there with a good solution for sorting and storing all the strips I've cut for boarders, thumb shaped pieces, triangles, and so on? I've got the heads, bodies, arms, legs and accessories all organized in sandwich bags, but all the rest is in a pile in a box. I'll have to give this some thought.

I have the same problem at school. I would post a picture of my desk, but I'm too embarrassed. I've just discovered a new book by Debbie Diller called "Spaces and Places". It's about organizing your classroom so at the end of the year it only takes 1 day to pack everything up so the cleaning crew can wax the floors. It usually takes me 2 weeks. I have too much junk. Debbie suggests working on one area at a time & purging. It's working well at school because I have so many duplicate copies, out-dated stuff, and stuff from when I taught kindergarten years ago. Purging actually feels good! At first I was very reluctant to throw stuff away, so I put extra copies in a box for my students to take home this summer. Believe it or not, so 4th graders still like to play "school" during the summer. I'm also giving a lot of the kindergarten stuff to my daughter who is an assistant director of a preschool. Other stuff has been sent to recycle and some actually ended up in the trash. My father lived through the depression and was a certified hoarder, so it's been hard not to follow in his footsteps. The feeling of being able to find stuff in my classroom outweighs the fear that I am throwing something away that I might need. If I haven't used it in the last year (or 2 or 3 years!) then I really don't need it.

Now, if I can just apply this to my art area. The problem is that in art, everything is usable :) I know, I'm hopeless - hee hee. Seriously though, any solutions to storing all the little bits and pieces, please share.

Chunky Book Pages

The end of school is near & hopefully I'll have more time to make art!!! I have been making chunky pages for swaps on swapbot and atcsforall. Lots of fun - the 4" X 4" page size is quick to complete. The Mother's Day page is more my usual style, sort of vintage and pastel, but I'm really loving the bright colors, inks, paint and wild creatures I'm working with now. Here's some of the pages I've been doing.

Zetti Pages

Even though we had house guests for 9 days, I actually got some work done! I'm beginning to love this style art. I'm mulling over the idea of doing a journal using only one magazine with the idea being to use as much of it as possible. I got this idea as I was digging pieces of magazine pages out of the trash in my classroom as my students began their own art journals. I began showing them the many ways to use what they were viewing as "trash" and one of the kids made the comment that it looked like I was going to use all their trash!

Am I crazy? Probably - but the seed of an idea has been planted. Hummmm - definitely worth thinking over.

Zetti Parts

I've been trying out the Zetti style and created several pages for my journal. After spending hours at the computer and thumbing through magazines to find arms and legs for my art, I decided to stick them on a page & scan them in for others to use. The first arms I did (on the leg page) I cut out completely. On my second attempt, I left them together with a bit of background. I used my paint pen to cover that area (to save ink when printing). Now I can actually find a pair when I want them! I cut out the parts and store them in plastic baggies, so they're ready to go when I want to sit down & create something.

My disclaimer: I collected these pictures from Flickr Creative Commons, magazines and Public Domain pictures as far as I know. If you see something that is copyrighted, please email me so I can remove it. I'm not selling these pages, they are free for you to use in your art, but PLEASE don't sell the images as part of a collage sheet or on CD. I don't own the rights to these pictures and am only using them under Creative Commons. I'd love to see what you create with them. Please email me!